Authors: Ashley Speller
At the Cure FactoryTM in Seattle Children’s Building CureTM, cell products for patients enrolled in clinical trials are manufactured on-site in downtown Seattle
Seattle Children’s, an international leader in the effort to better treat cancer in children, teens and young adults by boosting the immune system with immunotherapy, has reached a new milestone by enrolling its 500th patient in its chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell immunotherapy clinical trials in 10 years.
T cells play a key role in fighting pathogens and regulating the immune system. Through a potentially game-changing experimental treatment called cancer immunotherapy, a patient’s own T cells are “reprogrammed” into CAR T cells that can hunt down and destroy cancer cells wherever they are hiding in the body.
Support from more than 24,000 donors in all 50 states and across 17 other countries has raised more than $123 million to date to move this research forward. Historically, only 4% of the federal cancer research budget was allocated to pediatric cancer. In 2021, advocacy efforts helped increase that percentage to 8%, but there is a significant need for additional funding and philanthropy in pediatric cancer research to help scientists advance this important work and open new trials sooner.
On the Pulse looks back at the remarkable stories of Seattle Children’s patients who fought and beat cancer over the last decade, and shares where they are today.
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Authors: Madison Joseph
Seattle Children’s patients and families were surprised when some exciting visitors stopped by from University of Washington (UW) Athletics.
The 17 women on the UW Softball team each brought a pair of white cleats to be designed by a patient, and the team will wear their custom cleats during the televised Cal series on the Pac -12 network April 6 – 8, 2023.
Additionally, the UW Football team stopped by with footballs for our patients to decorate.
Seattle Children’s is grateful for UW Athletics bringing smiles and creativity to our patients, and we are excited to cheer them on throughout their seasons.
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Authors: Anna Altavas
It has been a monumental year since the Odessa Brown Children’s Clinic (OBCC) Othello location opened its doors to patient families in March 2022 near the Othello Link light rail station in southeast Seattle’s Rainier Valley.
Since then, the clinic has provided quality care with dignity to more than 40,000 patients in the community through its innovative, integrated approach where services including pediatric medical care, behavioral health, dental services, nutrition, sports medicine, physical therapy, occupational therapy, x-ray and imaging and much more, all available under the same roof at the same appointment, if needed.
Many community-oriented events and key milestones have taken place in the year since the clinic opened. On the Pulse shares a look back and what’s to come.
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Authors: Taylor Richards and Madison Joseph
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith visits with a pediatric patient at Seattle Children’s Hospital
Seattle Children’s patients and families were surprised this holiday season when some exciting visitors stopped by – Geno Smith, Seattle Seahawks quarterback, Michael Dickson, punter, Joey Hunt, center, and Jalen McKenzie, tackle.
The players delivered teddy bears, signed autographs, played video games, and shared special moments with our patients and their families.
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Authors: Rose Ibarra
This is the second holiday season Seattle Children’s Building Maintenance Technician Jerome Ramos will spend with his family in the hospital.
His daughter has been in the hospital waiting for a heart transplant since July 2021. Before coming to Seattle Children’s, 10-month-old Kaelyn, of Honolulu, Hawaii, was experiencing shortness of breath.
When her face puffed up one day, her parents, Jerome and Christine Ramos, thought Kaelyn was having an allergic reaction and brought her to their local emergency department. Providers ruled out allergies, but recommended Kaelyn have an echocardiogram (ECHO) — a common test used to measure heart function.
Shortly after leaving Kaelyn with the technician, Christine and Jerome heard a voice over the hospital paging system: “Code Blue, ECHO.” “We were in shock,” Christine remembers. “She seemed fine when we dropped her off but when we got back to Kaelyn, we saw our child being resuscitated. It was devastating.”
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Authors: Ash Pineda
Since 2015, Renton-based Wizards of the Coast, a family of studios specializing in role-playing, trading card and digital games, has participated in Extra Life, a fundraising program of Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.
Extra Life brings together tabletop and video gamers to raise money for member children’s hospitals across North America.
Funds raised through Wizards’ Secret Lair x Card drop help Seattle Children’s Autism Center to continue supporting patients and families with program development, expansion, family support and education, training and more. Read full post »
Authors: Ashley Speller
A child enjoys the new outdoor space at the Tiny Tots Development Center in Othello Square
A new outdoor space focused on nature-based learning is the newest addition to the 98118 ZIP code in Southeast Seattle’s Othello Square, one of the most ethnically diverse neighborhoods in the United States.
The Tiny Tots Development Center opened the first-of-its-kind outdoor classroom just before the start of the new 2022-2023 school year, funded by grants from Seattle Children’s and the PNC Foundation. The new open-air teaching space features trees, raised garden beds, natural bench seating, and hands-on activities that promote sensory-focused learning, and is part of a larger urban renewal effort in a historically underserved area with limited natural spaces.
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Authors: Madison Joseph
Seattle Children’s Research Institute: Building Cure/ Photograph: Paul Dudley
On Thursday, September 8, 2022, Building Cure was lit up in honor of National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.
As part of the celebration, Seattle Children’s Foundation and Guild Association hosted an event at the space to recognize and thank donors who support pediatric cancer care and research. It was also an opportunity for supporters to meet, engage, and hear updates from Seattle Children’s cancer leaders on the care and research progress we have made, and plans for the upcoming year.
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Authors: Isabelle Minasian and Ashley Speller
Thanks to the Chronic Recurrent Multifocal Osteomyelitis (CRMO) Program at Seattle Children’s, a family found answers and treatment for their son’s pain. Now that the symptoms associated with the disease are under control, Seth Maharry is able to focus on doing things he loves most— like playing guitar.
From an early age, Seth Maharry has been an active kid. He started playing soccer at age 4, joined Little League at 5 and by the time he was 9, Seth earned a spot on a club team in Gig Harbor, Washington where he played soccer year-round. During a tournament in Portland, Oregon, Seth started to complain about the pain in his hip.
“We figured he’d just been playing soccer all weekend,” said his mom Nora. “We saw the physical therapist and they said everything was fine, but it continued to get worse and worse.”
Seth’s parents decided to take Seth to the doctor but were told it was just growing pains, though it was clear to Nora that this was something far more serious.
“That was our battle for a year and a half,” Nora explained. “My heart just ached because I knew what we were being told was not right.”
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Authors: Madison Joseph
Just in time for Autism Acceptance Month, the Seattle Children’s Alyssa Burnett Adult Life Center (ABC), which offers lifelong learning for people 18+ with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and other developmental disabilities, reopened its expanded doors in late March, rolling out in-person classes for the first time since the COVID pandemic began.
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